Chennai-based Madras Christian College has recently introduced a state-of-the-art device known as a smart duck to monitor the water quality of a lake situated within its expansive 300-acre campus in Tambaram. The IoT-powered, remote-controlled duck is designed to navigate the lake and collect real-time data on various key parameters such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and pH. The lake serves as a significant water source within the campus and underwent desilting by Bisleri International Limited as part of a corporate social responsibility initiative. The company also provided funds for the creation of a prototype to assess water quality. A team from MCC-MRF Innovation Park developed the smart duck, equipped with sensors and an accompanying app for data reception and analysis. Principal Paul Wilson, credited with the idea of employing the smart duck, highlights its potential to aid in making informed decisions for lake conservation, thereby safeguarding the campus ecology and wildlife. The device's solar panels can sustain its operation for up to two days without sunlight, and manual charging is also available if necessary. Kousik, founder of the startup KOLOZEN responsible for constructing the duck, mentions that the startup has been efficiently collecting and transmitting data for the past two weeks. Researchers propose extending the deployment of similar ducks to other water bodies beyond the campus boundaries to monitor water quality and generate insights crucial for local authorities. Professor T Pradeep from the Department of Chemistry at IIT Madras underscores the vital role of this data in understanding water body dynamics in response to rainfall, seasonal variations, environmental health, and disease patterns, expressing optimism for constructing a comprehensive hydro informatics platform based on such data. The lush scrub jungle within the MCC campus is habitat to around 90 spotted deer, porcupines, toddy cats, and bats, further emphasizing the importance of the smart duck initiative.The college is using cameras with motion sensors in order to monitor the movements of wild animals on campus.